Due to the increasing health concerns over the COVID-19 virus, the Michigan Municipal League has made the unprecedented decision to cancel all face-to-face events for the remainder of March and all of April. This includes our 2020 CapCon planned for later this month. In addition, we have instructed League staff to work from their homes effective at the end of the business day today through April 6.
This is new territory for all of us, but rest assured the League will continue to serve our members to the best of our abilities.
These decisions were made after a great deal of consideration and in response to recommendations from Governor Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The following events are now cancelled or postponed:
- Capital Conference (March 24-25) and all related events at the conference, including the League board meeting, Awards Gala, Legislative Breakfast, and Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys Advanced Institute (CANCELLED)
- Michigan Municipal League Foundation Board meeting scheduled for March 19 (CANCELLED)
- Policy Forum event planned for April 22 (POSTPONED)
- Investor Summit scheduled for April 15 (POSTPONED)
Webinars currently scheduled will continue as planned, including the Newly Elected Officials Webinar Series set for April 7, 14, and 21.
Go here to register
. Face-to-face events taking place after April 30 remain scheduled at this time. We will continue to monitor this situation and make final decisions closer to the event dates.
Deciding to cancel CapCon and these other events was a difficult but necessary step to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of our members, vendors, and staff. Full refunds for cancelled events will be issued in the same manner registration fees were paid. Refunds will take a few weeks to process, but members do not need to take any additional action to receive their refund.
Regarding cancelling hotel reservations made for CapCon, the procedures are different depending on which League-partner hotel you secured:
- Radisson - If you made a reservation at the Radisson, you will need to contact the hotel directly to cancel. The League, unfortunately, is not allowed to cancel these reservations for you.
- Hilton Garden Inn - If you made a reservation for the Hilton Garden Inn, all reservations will be automatically cancelled.
In place of in-person events and trainings, we are actively planning additional webinar education opportunities for our members. We will share additional details on our plans in the coming days. In the meantime, thanks for your patience and understanding and we look forward to seeing you on Mackinac Island for Convention 2020 in the fall.
The League is also requiring our employees to work from home beginning at the end of the business day today and continuing until April 6. This is in keeping with Governor Whitmer's direction to all Michigan schools and what we deem to be necessary at this juncture. During this time, we will maintain all League services and continue to be available to our members by phone, email, and other communication platforms. We are instructing League staff to not attend any in-person meetings during this time and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We will send regular emails to our members and provide ongoing updates about this ever-changing situation on our website (mml.org) and social media outlets.
In addition, to assist our members the League has created a
Coronavirus Resources
page containing links to state and federal resources and the latest information, recommendations, and guidelines specific to local governments.
This is an unprecedented situation for all of us and information is changing very rapidly. We are doing our best to be responsive to member concerns and questions. The League is continuing to monitor the situation and will provide updates as they are known.
Stay healthy!
